Each, in different but equally impressive ways, recorded stellar careers with their respective National Hockey Clubs but all share a lifelong, unbreakable bond.

Each wore a Peterborough Petes jersey.

The longest continuously operating team in the Ontario Hockey League, the Petes were born when the Kitchener Canucks relocated to Peterborough following the 1955-56 season, shortly after becoming an affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Sponsored by Toronto-Peterborough Transport (TPT), the Petes played its first game Oct. 1, 1956. The club's first win took a bit, coming more than a month later.

Future Hall of Famer Scott Bowman was at the helm early on, guiding the Petes to its first league title, and first Memorial Cup appearance, in 1959. The seed was sown for a hockey tradition that would enthrall generations of Peterborough and area hockey fans for generations to come.

Eight more Memorial Cup appearances would follow but just one national championship, in 1979 at the expense of the Brandon Wheat Kings. In 1996, the first Memorial Cup to be staged in Peterborough saw the hometown favourites lose in the final to Granby.

As for league championships, the Petes have 13 banners at the Memorial Centre, the last being secured in 2006.

Beyond Bowman, there were head coaches Roger Neilson (1966-1976) and Dick Todd (1982-1993). While each brought varying levels of on-ice success to the mix, few periods in the club's history match what transpired from 1978 through 1980 when the Petes claimed three consecutive league titles (Gary Green coached the club to the first two, Mike Keenan to the third). And, as mentioned, it was in 1979 that the Memorial Cup -- the Petes' only Canadian junior title -- was won.

Andre Lacroix, Greg Millen, Chris Pronger, Mike Ricci and Jordan Staal. The list goes on and on. To date, the Petes have more than 150 alumni who have played, or are playing, in the NHL. That's the most of any junior team in Canada. And three of those players -- Gainey, Gretzky, Murphy and Yzerman -- are Hockey Hall of Fame inductees.

Home since day one has been the Memorial Centre. There, the Petes debuted in the red, white and blue jerseys befitting a Canadiens' farm team. For the 1974-75 season, the club adopted the maroon-and-white colours its players wear to this day.

In 2003, a major renovation of the aging arena was undertaken. The new-look Memorial Centre played host to the OHL all-star game in 2004.

Jassen Cullimore, Kurtis Foster, Zach Bogosian and Patrick Kaleta, And so the list continues as the Petes close in on six decades of commitment to excellence, on and off the ice.